Land & environment

A rescued orphaned koala joey is one of countless native animals rescuers expect will need urgent care amid the flooding catastrophe in New South Wales and Queensland. The 14-month-old male koala, named Gulliver, was rescued amid the torrential downpours in Tregeagle in the NSW Northern Rivers region on February 28.

Forestry Australia considers that active management, including timber production, is vital to the sustainability of native forests and provides many benefits to Australian society. Forestry Australia advocates for ongoing research on timber harvesting in native forests to support this capability in Australia.

In summer 2007, I planned and supervised the establishment of a research thinning trial in regrowth jarrah (E.marginata) forest about 15 km east of the Western Australian town of Jarrahdale ... The trial consisted of eight plots, each one hectare in size, thinned to various densities of trees ... Some six months after thinning, in November 2007, the whole area was treated with a prescribed burn ...

Serena Kirby. A rare specimen of a ruby seadragon, found washed up at Ocean Beach, has piqued the interest of experts at the WA Museum. The pristine body of the seadragon was the lucky find of Annika Engstrom who regularly walks the beach picking up rubbish and plastics.

The Denmark Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service celebrates 60 years since it was established on March 9, 1962 ... One of the first members was Ollie Wakka who has served for all of the 60 years of the service and is still doing so.

“They refused to vote down dodgy National Party law changes that allowed for excessive water take in the Northern Basin. These law changes really disadvantaged Lower Darling communities and Murray River irrigators” : Helen Dalton ... “This disallowance motion is a political game from a green Independent looking for relevance that undermines years of hard work by the SFF to see floodplain harvesting regulated”: Mark Banasiak, SFF MLC and Deputy Chair of the Select Committee on Floodplain Harvesting.

Innovative research at the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority has produced a world-first blue kangaroo paw (anigozanthos masquerade) that is now available to be purchased by Western Australians at local retailers.

At the start of the floods, private company Rotorwing Helicopters was using two helicopters. Now they have 12 here. Over five days they made 20 drops to Coraki. They have coordinated 250 drops so far across the region. At least 100 people have been moved to safety by their helicopter crews. More than 1000 calls for assistance have come in.

In the aftermath of the flood, bread and milk have become important commodities. With delivery trucks from Brisbane delayed, dairy farmers Shane Hickey and Julia Curtis have stepped up to get milk to as many places as they can ... In the past few days, they have widened their delivery service ... Dave’s Bakehouse in Kyogle is flat out making bread ...

While the focus in Evans Head is on getting food and fuel into the town and cleaning-up, the harrowing flood experiences the community went through remain. And will for a long time ... Like many residents in Coraki, Woodburn and Broadwater, Kerri-Anne is unhappy about how the flood crisis was managed.

Lynne Mowbray. A contingent of Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteers from around NSW arrived in Maclean on Monday morning to assist with clean-up operations on Woodford Island ... Over the last week here in Maclean, the town has had an influx of assistance from around the State from not only RFS members, but SES, NSW Police Rescue, Army Reserves, NSWF+R Technical Support and NSWF+R Bulk Water Transfer System ...

Emma Pritchard. Several local businesses have united to host fundraising events to assist Clarence Valley residents affected by the adverse wet weather which unleashed havoc upon the region last week. TNT Towing and grooming salon You Love ‘m, We Scrub ‘m have held flood fundraising barbeques. Anytime Fitness will host a third fundraising event.

Please DO NOT handle or place any asbestos in rubbish piles for collection. Asbestos can only be removed by a licenced contractor. Hazardous wastes will eventually be included in the overall disaster clean-up work.

“We know the people of Mount Morgan have been wanting a pipeline for a long time, but we can’t just go out and build a pipeline; unfortunately it’s not that easy" : Mayor Williams ... “It will be one year this month since the Mount Morgan community have been in Level 6 (emergency supply) restrictions. During this time, we have continued to cart water from Gracemere to Mount Morgan, which has cost Council around $4.5 million so far" : Cr Kirkland.

Overgrown forests are one of the key contributing factors to the current wildfire crisis in the West. The new Forest Service strategy on Confronting the Wildfire Crisis outlines the agency’s plan for increasing fuels and forest health treatments to create healthier forests and reduce the risk to communities.

The start of the popular salmon run along the State's west and south coasts this month is hotly anticipated by Western Australian fishers but carries with it an increased risk of shark encounter, with ocean users reminded to put safety first.

John O'Donnell identifies the multiple barriers to effective low intensity or ecological maintenance burning of forest areas across south east Australia and opportunities to address these.